Article review by: Kenny Eliason
Oh the famous topic of procrastination. A topic that many college students deal with every year at this time. Assignment are due, studying for tests, procrastination gets the best of all of everyone at some point. This article tells a story about a brilliant college kid who has blown two huge deadlines. He didn’t blow them because he wasn’t capable. He blew them because he kept thinking, “Eh, I’ll get to it.” Famous last words. The author does a great job explaining the causes of this horrible habit that people tend to form. The author also explains the effect this habit can have not only on mental health, but your physical health as well. People procrastinate for many reasons, fear, perfection, self control and thrill seeking are just some mentioned.
I chose this article for class because I felt like I had a lot to learn from it. This has always been one of my struggles since as long as I remember and I believe that many a college student suffers from it as well. Many college students, especially at a community college, are so wrapped up in other things rather than school that it makes it easy to say, “I just don’t have time.” It is a constant juggle between work, family and school. With all those things constantly on your plate, procrastination is not the answer, more the result. We must teach our selves to prioritize, set goals and fulfill them, be punctual and responsible. I think many CCSN students would agree, and with the offering of online classes, sometimes it allows us to procrastinate even more because we don’t have to answer to a real person, just an online web site. Once you get into the groove of college, life becomes much easier and fulfilling because you’re planning ahead for those tests and essays that are due by the end of the semester so that you’re not dreading the last two weeks before school is out. Procrastination is an ugly habit that sometimes forms without us even realizing it.
I definitely agree with the author’s description of the causes of procrastination. I found that as I read the different causes I could remember times when those were the reasons for why I procrastinated. One of the quotes that hit home the most was, “Procrastinators would rather be seen as lacking in effort than lacking in ability.” How true is that? When we fail a final, it’s a lot easier to say, “It’s not my fault I only had 30 minutes to study.” Instead of, “Man, I wish I would have had a tutor all semester.” Another thing mentioned in the article are the feelings that are associated with procrastination. Feelings of anxiety or guilt are normal results, and what is more interesting is that when they did a test on college students who procrastinated, the feelings they had reversed. Soon after beginning that long overdue project, or studying for tomorrow’s test, they reported feeling relieved and no longer said that they worked better under pressure. It’s interesting how our mind works under those situations.
Procrastination can be deadly on many aspects of life. “I’ll tell her sorry next time I see her.” Or, “I’ll run that daily report for my boss next week.” We must learn to harness the beast! We need to realize the problem and attack it with our guns loaded. It’s not good enough to just skim through life barely making deadlines. That causes unnecessary stress and anxiety and has adverse affects even on your physical health. According to the article, 70 percent of college students report having a hard time making deadlines. Isn’t that amazing? We need to strive to be in that 30 percent of those who do not procrastinate and make an effort to succeed.
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